Platform: Xbox 360

Developers:  Kojima Productions

Publisher: Konami

Release date (NA): March, 18 2014

Genre: Action-Adventure, Stealth

Nerd Rating: 8 out of 10

With Q4 of 2014 coming, and a questionable release date for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain within said quarter, now is a great time to purchase Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes to familiarize yourself with the entirely revamped style of gameplay that you may have been accustomed to in the previous Metal Gear releases. Gone are the days of David Hayter voicing the many renditions of Snake, being replaced by the franchise’s first big wig in the entertainment industry, Kiefer Sutherland.

While Hideo Kojima, the mastermind behind every title in the series, did not even ask Hayter to voice Snake, I understand his choice for the Hollywood actor. Sutherland does a pretty decent job at acting out Snake’s role, but I believe that Kojima chose a “huge” actor in Hollywood to play the role based on the Hollywood cinema style cut-scenes (that use the new in-game FOX engine as opposed to CG video sequences from the older games) that really outdo every other game in the series. This is entirely my opinion based on nothing other than some shit I thought up in my head; take it for what it’s worth. This shit is showed off immediately as you start the game for the first time. Being that I am too poor to have an Xbox One or PS4, I had to deal with the painfully slow frame rate on my 360. Although it was still at an “acceptable” 30 FPS, it definitely looked like it was struggling to stay there, with occasional drops during intensive explosive and motion excessive sequences. Still, in the aesthetics department, this game is definitely the best looking MGS to date.

Then the controls come in, and things are very different, and still fundamentally the same (oxymoronic, I know). There are some adjustments that you need to get used to, but it didn’t feel like it was that hard to, and there are only two difficulties, Normal, and Hard, with the latter being a real scumbag to remain stealthy. Once you play through the first mission, you should be able to dive into battle with a little more confidence. The hardest part isn’t exactly control related, but getting a better idea of the enemy’s field of vision. No more radar with this information displayed anymore. Fuck. Although they added a sort of notification through sound and a white marker on screen for the direction that an enemy is if you are at the threshold of their vision. Also added is the use of the “iDroid” for intel and a map that shows marked enemies, vehicles, cameras, etc. If you suddenly walk into an enemy’s direct line of sight, a slow motion sequence occurs where you can eliminate the enemy, in whichever of the dozens of ways available, and prevent them from calling in backup and notifying others. You only have a few seconds, and this is a feature you can toggle off in the settings (reflex mode), but it can really prevent shit from getting too real. I highly suggest leaving it on, which is the default.

The sound has been kind of an issue for me. Everything is clear and has good quality, but when using my DX12 Turtle Beach headset, it becomes a bit of a cock when trying to make sense of direction and the sounds you make when moving are a bit too loud. Plus, third-person view throws this off as well, so I just end up taking 14 minutes to decide if I can cross a street. Balls. On. Chin.

Overall, the story is great, and acted out very well (in comparison to every other MGS) and feels a little more realistic than the others. This is a very short, one mission game, but there are a few bonus missions to play that get unlocked by completing the main mission and by how well you do within the unlocked ones. After completing the main mission, It took me over 10 hours to complete all of the other missions, but even still, I have only achieved a 65% completion record.  That being said, the re-playability is definitely there, just like any other MGS. Also, with this being more of a prologue to the next one, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (what a bunch of dicks with the naming scheme), and not really a “full” game, the current $19.99 digital download price tag on Xbox marketplace (as of 9/7/2014) makes it completely worth it. With how much I enjoyed this one, it has given me a chance to get the new control system down and prepped me for the Phantom Pain. I’m psyched for the next one, are you?!